The Little Sea Maid
by Bekahbee
Summary: A deeper look at Hans Christian Andersen's tale of 'The Little Sea Maid', mildly based on the nonDisney cartoon of 'The Little Mermaid'.


I've never been to the surface. I've always wanted to go, but somehow I've either felt too scared or maybe I just haven't discovered the means to sneak up there without getting caught. My sisters have all been and they constantly return to shores and tell me of all the things I am missing by being the youngest. I listen with all the patience of my young years and roll my eyes when they finish. They enjoy mocking me and I tell myself I can slip a few shells in their beds while they're gone. Grandmother lets them go by themselves sometimes and if she leaves with them, she gazes at me lingeringly, as if she might change her mind about letting me go. Then she gives me an apologetic glance and I begin to count the days until I turn fifteen.

"Marina! Come play with me!" Fritz yelled at me from outside my balcony window. I sighed and fluttered my tail. Fritz squeezed through the intricate mother of pearl dome and swam around and around my head. I swatted at him playfully and began chasing him.

"What should we do first, Fritz?" I asked. Fritz floated down to my bed and sprawled out on the seaweed, panting.

"Let's take a nap, Marina." Fritz snored loudly and I shoved him off the bed.

"Let's explore the ruins of that royal barge that sank near the deep crevasse, Fritz. I just love trinkets that come from land. Unfortunately they always seem to disintegrate before I can get them properly placed on my shelves. Isn't that sad, Fritz?"

"Those are shark-infested waters, Marina. We can't go there. What if your father or grandmother found out? We'd get in trouble-"

"Fritz, you're the one who always wants adventure in the deep seas or whatever you said last week…don't tell me you've changed your mind."

"But Marina, I meant going someplace like the caverns. I thought we could swim in the tall grasses like old times. I hope it still tickles."

"Fritz, sometimes I wonder…I feel like there's something missing. Everything I do and see doesn't seem good enough anymore. I want big things…things that don't depend on whether or not the waters harbor dangerous sea mammals. I want so much to go on land and experience what it's like. My sisters are always so happy for days when they've visited the land. They're even nice to me."

"Marina, you're not old enough yet. I'm sorry, but you still have a while to go."

"I know. But when I am old enough, no one can stop me from going to the surface." Fritz cowered at the intensity in my voice.

I was working in my garden after lunchtime. I formed it in a round shape, a circle like I've heard the sun is. My garden's flowers hardly ever need tending, but I perform maintenance around them. Random fish like to pick at them and the petals hang loosely about. My garden is one of the few things in my life that I treasure and appreciate. Fritz tittered about the royal gardens admiring the strange things that my sisters brought back from the surface. Aquatique found any empty bottle on the beach and filled it with dry sand. Drench decorated the edge of her garden with pieces of wood from something called trees. Oceania kept clocks from the wreckages of ships and lined them along in a pattern. Stormy loved shiny things and decorated her flowers with jewelry from the abandoned cabins of wealthy women on sunken ships. Waverly kept strange pictures of the people on the ships and some were put together with strange fluids that came off a little bit each day. I was the only one that kept my garden virtually uncluttered by human materials. Those I kept in my bedroom. Fritz was sending ripples in my direction as though he wished me to hurry with my gardening.

"Fritz! You silly little dolphin! We can't even agree on a place to pass the time. What does it matter whether or not I finish my freshening up or not?"

"Don't be mad, Marina. If you really want to go to the barge, I'll go with you. I won't even tell your father." Fritz flipped his tail and headed toward the ruins, expecting me to follow. I put down my soil shifter and started after him. Fritz almost never says no. This is naturally a harmful habit, but it can be quite lucrative whenever I want to do something that he is frightened of.

The barge once belonged to a royal family who used it as a merriment vessel, transporting gifts, food, and guests for a festival in honor of their crown prince. The celebration was to take place in the days before his birthday. Then a storm came and ravaged the seas, plundering the barge into violent chaos. The tumultuous ocean sent the ship under and forever more it lies at the bottom of the sea. It happened only months before, but I can't even imagine what life was like without it. I scaled the sides and looked for the opening beneath the port bow. I swam inside and all the rotted planks were decaying, making it hard for me to see all the odd and wonderful human-made trinkets that were sprawled on the floor. I picked up an old figurine of what I assumed was a woman. She was very beautiful with long, flowing hair and graceful arms and legs. I desired to be that woman. I glanced at my tail and the inconvenience it caused almost daily. I could never swim fast enough to battle the currents and I despised how hard I had to work in order to get anywhere. Swimming for sea people is rather complicated in its way. Fish have long, scaly bodies that penetrate water easily and provide better aquatic skill. Frogs aren't as well-made, but their legs balance out their improperly proportioned bodies. Sea people have a combination of these traits that make them fairly incompetent swimmers. Our arms and legs throw our tails off balance and we can't seem to travel in a smooth or effective manner. Our people, my grandmother once said, were never meant to thrive. I understand what she meant by that, even though my sisters called her a fool. My grandmother used to tell me stories about my mother and what she was like when she was alive. I hardly remember her.

"Your dear mother, may the seas give her peace, was once a bright, adventurous young thing. Much like you, Marina. Only you, I'm sure, have far too great a sense to do what your poor mother did. She was reckless and dared to get close to one of the passing ships on the high seas. Some sailor tried to send a harpoon through her, and though her tail was only slashed, her wounds were deep and irreversible, even by my medicines. Can you imagine some saucy pirate trying to mount your mother on their mantle? It's unforgivable. This is why you must never get close to the shore, or to any ships. Whatever you do, Marina, stay away from humans. They would love to prove our existence, and by that I mean they would love to drag our lifeless corpses to their public exhibitions. We would make them rich. Promise me, Marina that you'll keep your wits about you and not commit such an imprudent act like your mother did. I'd hate to see that happen to you. Although you are a very thoughtful child and I hardly think you'll repeat history. But it never hurts to be forewarned, now does it?"

I idle in my silly thoughts and daydreams of being human and wanting a world and a life I know that I can never have. For now I will simply have to be patient until it is my turn to go to the surface and witness the splendor of dry land.

I sit by my garden while my sisters are giggling excitedly, talking about what they expect to see when they go above water. I listen without hearing and I try to share in their happiness, yet how can I when they partake of something I want more than any of them? I smile and wish them a good time, a safe journey, and an adventure. My sisters barely acknowledge me and I watch as they begin their ascent. My grandmother sees me and the longing in my eyes. I turn away, because I don't want her to know how much I've yearned for fresh air and clouds and the sun. She mentions that my birthday is coming, and I nod as though she were telling me about an exotic conch shell she had come across. I try not to harbor any feelings of bitterness and yet I'm insanely jealous of every second they've spent in the open air. And after their return, they spend days telling stories about cold blocks of ice and strange fires in the sky, lovely tufts of white that adorn a bright red sun. Things I've always wanted to see but have only heard about. I latched onto those stories with an eager heart and absorb every little detail I can in case I can use the knowledge when it's finally my turn to rise to the surface. Fritz comes up behind me and tries to take my mind off my troubles. Fritz may be intolerably impish but he is my best friend.

"Nothing can cheer me up, Fritz. Until I can see the world of humans for myself, I don't think I shall ever be happy."

The days pass very slowly and I feel the tremors of sadness envelop me in their icy clasp. Fritz comes by often to ask if I can come out to play. I explain that I don't feel like doing anything except lying in my bed. I lie in bed constantly and my grandmother worries for my health. My sisters read me stories and bring me special tea. I enjoy their kindness and fear that when I am well they will ostracize me again as they have done since I was younger. For now, however, I appreciate their apparent genuine concern. My father came up to my bedside, and I saw him for the first time in months. He never makes social calls, and my sisters and I hardly ever see him except for social events and big royal galas. I must have worried him badly for him to take time out of his busy monarchy schedule to come and see me. He sits in an armchair beside me and puts his big hand over mine. His hands feel sweaty and shaky. His voice comes out broken, struggling.

"Marina my child…I beg of you to abandon this mania. You will get to go to the surface in your own time as your sisters have. This is unhealthy for you to be obsessing about. I want you to help your grandmother plan your coming out party. Perhaps you'll become so busy that you will forget about your unhappiness for awhile. By that time, you will be of age to go to the surface with your sisters." My father's aged face was crinkled with lines of trepidation. I forced a small smile.

"Father…I'll try to do as you say; at least for your sake." I said. My father seemed subdued and he patted my head as he left with a few of his attendants. I sat up in bed and wondered how I would manage to pretend that I actually cared about my coming of age celebration.

Grandmother made a list of all the royal guests she wanted to invite and all the food delicacies she wanted to have prepared. I sat by her side and witnessed the entire ordeal being planned without my help or support. I wondered if anyone could understand what I was feeling and wondered if anyone especially cared. Fritz and I played together every once in awhile and it was on one of these excursions that we were caught in the middle of a violent storm. The sea was angry and Fritz and I escaped into the caverns until it had passed. Storms marked the beginning of the summer season when the weather turned unfavorable. I braced myself for the unpleasant change.

I inched my head out of the entrance of the cave and discovered the ocean to be relatively still.

"Fritz…the tempest tide is down…"

"What if it comes back?" Fritz's cowardice flared.

"Then we take cover somewhere else. If we don't hurry, Grandmother will be worried."

When a sea princess comes of age, she is adorned with a wreath of lilies that set atop her head and inside of each lies half a pearl. Then her tail is decorated with eight oysters to show her rank. The pain is wickedly bad but the pride is supposed to suffer the hurt. Finally the day of my fifteenth birthday came. I was seated at the head of a long table and I did not hear or see anything going on around me. I waited until my grandmother bestowed the rites on me and I excused myself from all engagements. I wasn't going to wait any longer to come up for air.

My excitement grew as I neared my destination. I could hear explosions above and spy crackles of light. I broke free from water and shivered as little droplets cascaded down my cheeks, shoulders, and back. It was a giddy feeling and I rather liked it. Something was blowing my hair around…the wind. I glanced about and noticed a beautiful ship to my left. The fire in the sky was coming from that ship. They seemed to be having a party. The clouds were dotted red and gold, and the top half of the sun appeared like a petal of some pretty rose. The ship beside me was covered with lighted lanterns and there was music and singing and waving flags. I wondered how well they would be able to see me and if they would become frightened. I swam toward the boat, something in my curious nature beckoning me to it. There were little windows on the ship that were at my eye level and I clung to them in earnestness. My first glimpse into the human world. The people looked wonderful and handsome, so happy and gay. I scoured the sea of faces and suddenly my breath was taken away from me. A man in the center of all the rejoicing, the one whose sole presence was the reason for the festivities, was smiling so brightly that my eyes were instantly drawn to him. His eyes and hair were black as coals. My stomach began to turn and I wondered why I was feeling rather sick all of the sudden. I heard a shout from down below and I dove into the water for fear of capture, but I realized that the shouting was laughter and the prince was causing much raucous laughter. He was charming and everyone seemed to like and admire him very much. More fire began showering down from the sky and I became surrounded by falling stars. It was so bright then that I had to shield my eyes and squint, or else I would surely have been blinded. I watched until my eyes were burning and I felt water pour down my cheeks. But I simply couldn't turn away. It was far more than I had ever hoped to see. Life on land was surely even better. I couldn't wait to go ashore. I remembered my tail and searched for all the ways that I could join the dry world without scrutiny. Somehow I'd have to become a human.

Soon all the sparkles of light had ceased and the sounds of chatter and instruments had died down. The lanterns were shut off and the crackles had stopped completely. Almost completely. In the distance a snap shattered the cool stillness of the night and a flash of light struck through the dark sky.


End file.
